US Open PIX: Djokovic back with a bang; Gauff survives

Images from Day 1 of the 2023 US Open at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

Djokovic makes winning return to US Open

Novak Djokovic made a winning return to the US Open by storming past Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 on Monday to reclaim the world number one ranking and take the first step towards matching Margaret Court's record haul of 24 Grand Slams.

Unable to play at last year's event due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic had not been seen on the Flushing Meadows hard courts since his loss to Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 final.

And fans let the 36-year-old know they had missed him, showering the Serb with applause as he emerged from the tunnel onto Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

It was clear that the three-time champion had missed them as well as he embraced the cheers of a record crowd of over 30,000 that included former-US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

Arriving in New York on the back of an absorbing win over his young rival Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open final, an in-form Djokovic showed the 84th ranked Muller no mercy in what was his US Open main draw debut.

Firing on all cylinders, Djokovic broke the overwhelmed Frenchman to open the match and never took his foot off the gas, closing out the first set in 23 minutes with a thundering ace.

Djokovic broke Muller for a fourth time to open the second set and went 2-0 up before his opponent held serve for the first time, raising both hands in triumph as the crowd roared.

But the cheers would be few and far between as Djokovic closed out the second with a wicked forehand.

Muller showed more ambition in the third, taking the set to 3-3 before Djokovic took control by breaking the Frenchman twice on the way to closing out the match.

While the US Open has just got underway, Djokovic's win guarantees he will nudge Alcaraz out of top spot when the world rankings are updated on September 11.

Alcaraz, who beat Djokovic in an epic Wimbledon final in July, opens his account on Tuesday against Germany's Dominik Koepfer.

The path to a 10th US Open final and a possible mouthwatering showdown with Alcaraz will get tougher but Djokovic had one obstacle removed from his side of the draw when Danish fourth seed Holger Rune was upset 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 by Spanish clay court specialist Roberto Carballes Baena.

Next up for number two seed Djokovic is Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles, who was a straight sets winner over American Ethan Quinn.

Gauff survives Siegemund test to advance

Sixth seed Coco Gauff survived a surprisingly tough test from Laura Siegemund in a tense first-round match at the US Open on Monday, fighting back to beat the German 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The US teenager and the home crowd were stunned when Siegemund, the world number 121, used a variety of shotmaking and some spectacular plays at the net to take the first set.

But Gauff hit back early in the second, ending a 26-minute opening game with a break as Siegemund began to complain to the chair umpire about the serve clock being started too quickly after points.

Gauff broke again for a 4-1 lead and levelled the match when her backhand hit the net cord and threw off the timing of Siegemund's volley.

The American 19-year-old took control in the third set, racing out to a 3-0 lead and defusing Siegemund's net attack with some lovely lobs.

Siegemund was handed a point penalty on game point to give Gauff a 5-1 lead, a decision she disagreed with, telling the umpire that Gauff was playing "extremely fast" as boos rained down on her.

Siegemund refused to go away and broke to cut the lead to 5-3 with the help of three double faults by Gauff.

But on her second chance to serve out the match Gauff did not miss, letting out a scream and pumping her fist after Siegemund's backhand landed in the net to end the nearly three hour match.

Next up for Gauff is 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva.

Carballes Baena hands Rune shock first-round exit

Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena battled past an error-riddled Holger Rune 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the US Open on Monday, handing the fourth seed a shock early exit from the year's final major.

Carballes Baena was lethal from the baseline and fired off seven aces as his Danish rival struggled to make any form of impact on a muggy afternoon match at Flushing Meadows.

Rune suffered early exits from tune-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati and there were early signs of trouble on Monday as he failed to earn a break point in the first set.

Carballes Baena converted on break point chances in the fifth and ninth games but his serve lost its firepower in the second set, where Rune finally broke in the third game.

The Spaniard, who won in Marrakech earlier this year, cleaned up his act in the third set, where he broke Rune to love in the eighth game, and had clear control over the affair in the fourth set, where he only dropped a single first-serve point.

Carballes Baena broke his opponent's serve in the third and seventh games and beamed widely after Rune surrendered the match with an unforced forehand error.

"Not satisfied with the result obviously, but also with my tennis," said Rune, who called on the trainer in the third set after struggling with a left knee problem.

"There is only one way, and it's to work."

The Wimbledon and Roland Garros quarter-finalist had been disappointed to see his opening match taking place on Court 5, a comparatively smaller venue at the sprawling Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, but made no excuses for his performance.

"(The better) you get in the ranking, ...you should .... play in better conditions," he told reporters.

"But they didn't do it with me here. That's obviously disappointing, but not going to blame the court on the loss."

Haddad Maia knocks out former champion Stephens

Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia proved she was no pushover even when her back was up against a wall as she battled past 2017 champion Sloane Stephens with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory in the first round of the US Open on Monday.

Roland Garros semi-finalist Haddad Maia saved 11 of 15 break points across the match as the American suffered yet another early Grand Slam exit.

While Stephens was left to reflect on a miserable year at the majors, where her best showing was a fourth round appearance at Roland Garros, Haddad Maia set up a meeting with Stephens' compatriot Taylor Townsend.

After levelling the contest to one set all, Stephens could not absorb the Brazilian's firepower in the third set, where Haddad Maia sent over 20 winners.

"I was expecting a big battle," Haddad Maia said. "I knew that I had to work very hard and try to focus on my game."

World number one Iga Swiatek got her US Open title defence off to a dominant start on Monday, flattening unseeded Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-0 6-1 to kick off the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The four-time Grand Slam champion fired off 20 winners and four aces to set up a second-round meeting with Australian Daria Saville.

Swiatek said that her tank was "pretty empty" after losing in the Montreal and Cincinnati semi-finals earlier this month but showed no lack of vigour as she opened her US Open campaign with an ace and blazed through the first set.

The Polish player showed only brief signs of vulnerability early in the second set, as she began to accrue more unforced errors and had to claw her way back from triple break point in the first game.

But she reminded the crowd at Flushing Meadows why she has been the world number one since April 2022 as she whacked across an unreturnable backhand shot to break Peterson to love in the fourth game, amid a 10-point winning streak.

Peterson, who only produced two winners across the match, never regained her composure and Swiatek pumped her first after closing out the match with a scorching backhand down the line.

"I really wanted to play solid and start (the) tournament with everything that I focused on (in practice),” she said in on-court remarks.

"I just feel happy that with all the pressure and expectations I can just have fun on court."

Swiatek was having fun off the court too, taking in the "Lion King" musical to keep up her tradition of seeing a Broadway show during every trip to the year’s final major. 

Sakkari stunned by Masarova

Greek eighth seed Maria Sakkari crashed out of the US Open in the first round following a 6-4 6-4 defeat at the hands of Spaniard Rebeka Masarova on Monday.

World number 71 Masarova converted all three break point opportunities she had during the 87-minute encounter to secure her first career win over a top-10 player.

Sakkari had control as she consolidated an early break for a 4-1 lead but Masarova stormed back and won the next five games to wrap up the opening set.

In the second set, Masarova again consolidated a break for a 5-3 cushion and then, after Sakkari held serve to stay alive, closed out the encounter on her second match point with a backhand winner that dropped just inside the corner.

With the loss, Sakkari became the first seeded casualty of the U. Open.

For Sakkari, the defeat marked the final blow in a disappointing Grand Slam year for her as she followed a third-round appearance at the Australian Open with first-round exits at the French Open, Wimbledon and now the US Open.